Bimbilla curfew tightened after Thursday tensions

The Interior ministry acting upon the advice on Northern Regional Security Council has reviewed a night to dawn curfew in Bimbila after a shooting incident deepened tensions and left the state of security in the area highly “unpredictable”.

Two gunmen Thursday night at around 9:20pm, just about half an hour to curfew time, arrived on a motorcycle in the town centre, close to a police post, and opened gunfire sporadically on a group of men relaxing in an open structure.

Three died and seven more, some fatally, injured by the time their guns went silent. They fled after the deadly assault.

From Bimbilla, it took nearly seven hours to transport the severely injured persons to the Tamale Teaching Hospital in the regional capital for treatment. Doctors told Kasapa News the victims arrived at the facility around 3am Friday dawn from the time it happened on Thursday evening.

The shooting was widely linked to the chieftaincy dispute in the area between the Napka Naa and Naa Salifu Dasana factions.

The Regional Security Council raced into an emergency meeting Friday afternoon after the District security authorities painted a bleak security situation of possible reprisals.

After the closed door meeting, the Council made some recommendations to state bodies in charge of internal security and defence including the interior, which had embraced and swiftly implemented the recommendations.

Announcing the review, the ministry also reminded residents against violating a total ban on carrying arms and ammunition or any offensive weapon, added that any “person will be arrested and prosecuted”.

“Government continues to urge chiefs, opinion leaders, Youth and people of the area to exercise restraint in the face of the challenges confronting them and to use non violent means to channel their energies into ensuring peace in the area”, a statement signed sector minister, Ambrose Derry appealed.

Among other recommendations, the REGSEC ban riding pillion on motorcycles in the conflict zones across the region including Kafabar and Kalampor in the Gonjaland where gunmen killed more than three on Wednesday (December 6, 2017) during a dawn raid.

Other communities are; Najong 1 in Bunkprugu where gunmen on motorbikes shot and killed four people and injured nine at a busy market on Sunday evening (December 9, 2017), Sayeegu and Sambriluk where tensions are high over land dispute and leaders accused the deputy regional minister and MP for the area of encouraging domestic terrorism against the Buok clan in the area. The MP has since denied this charge “false”.

More than 5 incidents about gunmen using motorcycles to carry out attacks across the region have been recorded, in all, at least not less than 25 people have been killed and dozens still hospitalized or left with permanent deformities. – Eliasu Tanko